Elvis (The King) Mutapcic is still soured on the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

The Bosnian-American fighter was slated to make his World Series of Fighting debut against Jesse (JT Money) Taylor in Atlantic City two months ago as part of the promotion’s inaugural middleweight championship tournament.

However, moments before Mutapcic was set to step into the cage, the bout was scrapped after a NJSACB official claimed to witness the former MFC 185-pound titleholder ingesting a pill backstage. The official story then changed to Mutapcic’s corner being in possession of banned substances.

The only problem is the pills in question were prescribed to his manager for a heart condition.

Following the incident, Mutapcic, who received his show purse from WSOF, called the commission a “joke.”

It goes without saying his opinion hasn’t changed much.

“I wasn’t given the opportunity to earn a win bonus and my sponsor money was completely blown away,” Mutapcic told QMI Agency during a phone interview. “Not only that, they were accusing me on television of something I didn’t do, without having proof of it. It was completely false.

“Everybody knows you spend money training. You spend money on your training and on your travels. Not only did I not make as much as I would have, I actually ended up spending money. I felt like my reputation was hurt by that. I’m a guy that always works very hard. I outwork most of the guys and outperform most of the guys. So them accusing me of something like that hurt my reputation and my wallet.”

Though Mutapcic still harbours resentment towards the NJSACB, he admitted his team erred by not checking with athletic commission officials regarding the pills.

“My manager ... didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to have his heart medication,” Mutapcic began. “It would be common sense that if a fighter can’t have it, (a manager) can’t have it, but nowhere on the form does it ask the cornermen to disclose any medication they’re taking. So was it his mistake? Yeah, but was it also an overreaction? Yeah, absolutely. When she noticed he had the medication, I was nowhere in sight. I was already on the walkout deck. I was ready to fight.

“When they accused me of taking something, I asked them for one of their drug tests, which they denied me.”

In order to prove he was clean, Mutapcic immediately rushed to the nearest hospital to undergo drug testing. The results came back negative.

“I’m very sour about it,” he said. “They cost me a lot of money and a lot of my time. I’m a very hard-working guy. I lost three months of a training camp. I’ve been training for one fight for, more or less, six months now.”

Mutapcic gets to pick up where he left off when he battles Taylor on the main card of WSOF 7 in Vancouver Dec. 7.

The winner then faces David Branch at a later date to crown a first-ever WSOF middleweight champ. Branch earned his spot in the final with a unanimous-decision victory over Danillo Villefort in September.

As far as Mutapcic is concerned, there’s no point in dwelling on the past. He said if there’s a silver lining, it’s that he had more time to break down Taylor’s game.

“It sent me back on time and it sent me back in my career a little bit, but I’m going to try to make the best of it,” Mutapcic said. “I got to know my opponent a little bit better. I’ve had a longer period of time to prepare for him. I believe it’s going to be an even better fight.

“What I already have prepared for him, I’ve got a chance to sharpen that up even more. It the same deal, same game plan, just sharper.”

Though Mutapcic is refusing to let his clash with the NJSACB impact his upcoming fight, he admitted it will be therapeutic to close the door on this period of his career.

Mutapcic said everything he’s worked towards will be affirmed by conquering the WSOF 185-pound tournament.

“I really try not to look at it (in those terms), but reality is it’s going to lift some weight off my shoulders,” Mutapcic said. “I’m going to try and go out there to perform the way I perform normally. I’m trying not to let that get in the way of what I was originally planning to do.

“I believe it would show what I’ve been saying for a long time, that I’m worthy of fighting top fighters in my weight class. It would definitely give me more opportunities to improve my lifestyle and get a better life for my family. It would mean a whole lot to me to accomplish that.”

WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING 7

SAT., DEC. 7

MAIN CARD (WSOF.COM, 9 p.m. ET)

Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Lance Palmer

Elvis Mutapcic vs. Jesse Taylor

Sabah Fadai vs. Nick Newell

Dwayne Lewis vs. Kalib Starnes

PRELIMS (WSOF.COM, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Shawn Albrecht vs. Josh Machan

Richard Arsenault vs. Michael Hill

Matt Baker vs. David Perron

Ryan Dickson vs. Marcus Vinicius

Myles Merola vs. Dan Ring

Micah Brakefield vs. Brendan Kornberger

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Hendricks to GSP: ‘Give it up’

Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks has a message for Georges (Rush) St. Pierre.

“If you can’t handle the stress of being champion, give it up,” Hendricks said during a recent appearance on Inside MMA.

Hendricks lost a controversial split decision to St. Pierre at UFC 167 this month. Following the bout, the welterweight titleholder claimed he was taking a leave of absence from MMA to clear up personal issues.

Though the Montreal native has yet to offer up specific details, he claimed he cannot sleep at night until he fixes his personal life.

“Dude, I’ve got three kids,” Hendricks told host Ron Kruck. “Talk about sleep? Are you kidding me? Everybody’s got problems in life. That’s the way that it is.

“We chose to get into that octagon. We chose not to sleep. I don’t know how many times I went to bed at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning, waking up at 10, running four miles because I wanted to beat GSP that bad. Dude, who cares? I chose that life. Tell yourself whatever you need to. Just get back in that octagon with me. I can’t wait for the rematch.”

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Palhares signs with WSOF

Rousimar (Toquinho) Palhares has signed with World Series of Fighting.

WSOF announced this week that the controversial welterweight has inked an exclusive, multi-fight deal with the promotion.

Palhares was fired by the UFC following a vicious heel-hook submission win over Mike Pierce in October. Even after Pierce tapped out, and referee Keith Peterson intervened, the leg-lock specialist refused to immediately relinquish the hold.

Pierce, a former NCCA Division I wrestler, suffered a torn ankle ligament and sprained MCL has a result of the submission.

Palhares was also suspended 90 days by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in 2010 for a similar incident involving Tomasz Drwal.

Following his release from the UFC, Palhares’ manager, Alex Davis, indicated the fighter struggles to hit hit the off switch on submissions.

WSOF president Ray Sefo said he believes the Brazilian deserves a second chance.

“Rousimar is one of the most talented athletes in mixed martial arts, and we’re excited to have him as a part of our organization,” Sefo said in a press release.

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Cowboy gets on horse again

Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone is wasting no time getting back in the cage.

The former WEC lightweight title challenger has agreed to meet Adriano Martins at UFC on FOX 10 in Chicago Jan. 25. The card will be headlined by a 155-pound contender scrap between Josh Thomson and former champ Benson Henderson.

The bout announcement comes on the heels of Cerrone’s stunning submission of the night performance against Evan Dunham at UFC 167 in Las Vegas Nov. 16.

However, Cerrone isn’t the only fighter to snag submission of the night honours this month.

The Oklahoma City police officer and UFC featherweight underwent life-saving brain surgery in September after he was struck from behind by a van while stopped at a red light in Shawnee, Okla.

Doctors removed a portion of Grice’s skull and put him in a medically induced coma, where his condition continued to improve. He has since been discharged from hospital and is undergoing outpatient physical therapy.

Grice appeared on the MMA Hour (tinyurl.com/grice-hour) this week to discuss his miraculous road to recovery.

“They’re supposed to put the rest of my skull back in in December,” Grice said. “I’m looking forward to that, I’m hoping that when my skull gets back in I should improve and keep getting better until I’m 100%.

“One of the nurses in rehab, she was looking at my chart, she said, ‘You’re just a walking miracle. Reading your chart and talking to you, I can’t even explain how much of a miracle you are to be where you’re at.’ I’m just blessed by God to be moving like I am.”

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One more for Rich Franklin

Rich (Ace) Franklin’s next fight will be his swan song.

During a recent appearance on Inside MMA , Franklin confirmed he wants one last trip to the octagon.

“I lost my last fight and that really kind of solidified my decision to make this my last fight,” Franklin said. “I know that took me out of title contention, and so for me to actually get back in the title hunt again would be a couple years’ worth of work.

“I’m 39. I’ll be 40 next year, and it’s getting to the point where it’s late in my (MMA) life. It’s really too late to make that title run.”

After coming up short in his bid to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship against Anderson Silva in 2007, Franklin has gone 5-5 inside the cage. His most recent outing saw him suffer a brutal KO loss to Cung Le one year ago.

Though he has yet to receive a bout offer from the UFC, Franklin said he hopes to face a name opponent.

Mutapcic still sour about being pulled from WSOF debut

Elvis (The King) Mutapcic is still soured on the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

The Bosnian-American fighter was slated to make his World Series of Fighting debut against Jesse (JT Money) Taylor in Atlantic City two months ago as part of the promotion’s inaugural middleweight championship tournament.

However, moments before Mutapcic was set to step into the cage, the bout was scrapped after a NJSACB official claimed to witness the former MFC 185-pound titleholder ingesting a pill backstage. The official story then changed to Mutapcic’s corner being in possession of banned substances.

The only problem is the pills in question were prescribed to his manager for a heart condition.